Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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An Aversion to Chevrons & a Love for Baseball

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This just about sums up life around here lately. We love baseball. The two teams I cheered for, the Tigers and the Giants, are going to be in the World Series. Huzzah! But now…who to root for? I was born in Detroit. So, that means the Tigers, right? But I love, love the Giants. They are fun and scrappy and slightly eccentric and have a lot of heart. But I was born in Detroit. A quandary. Don is wholeheartedly for the Giants. I’m not sure how it’s going to play out.

Last night, when there wasn’t a game to watch and the usual junk was on television, Don and I spent the evening playing Scrabble on my iPhone. It was neck-and-neck for a while there, but I ended up beating him by 3 points.

The crochet speaks for itself. I’m crocheting for the shop and that little exercise is ongoing. The photo is slightly grainy because we have more rain and gray skies and I am getting so sick of it I could scream.

As I tool around the many wonderful blogs in Blogland, I have to say this: If the design powers-that-be decided that chevrons in any shape or form were to be outlawed, I would be very happy. My eyes are glazing over. I’m over them. Not that I was ever a fan, really. I’ve never like that particular kind of geometric design, which may be why, when I was much younger and doing needlepoint, I never went for bargello, which is another form of a chevron. Or why I have never been a fan of Missoni prints. I’m sure someone will be offended by this, but don’t be. It’s just my personal taste, or lack thereof. I don’t like chevron anything and since it is definitely the hot look out there, I run the risk of encountering it countless times in the course of a day while cruising the internet.

Now someone who loves chevrons would probably look at my mix of checks and flower prints and cozy Christmas in Connecticut style and run screaming from the room. They would have every right to. I get it. Personal taste is a funny thing. Why do I have such a strong reaction to chevron anything? I don’t know, really, I just know I do.

I will be a happy camper when this trend runs out of gas.

And to assure you that I did do something about yesterday’s mess:

(Again: rainy, gray, lamp is on, sorry.)

See? I actually sorted through piles, threw things out and found other places to put some of this stuff that made a sort of sense.

And, to close:

By the way, I’m guest posting over at Cozy Inspiration today,

Happy Wednesday.

Ladybugs, Cupcakes & Baseball

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Yesterday was sunny and warm and beautiful. Today? Rainy and dark. Guess which one I prefer.

And before you ask, I have yet to shred.

I’ve read about this happening but this is my first experience with it. Swarming ladybugs. I took Scout for a walk around the yard yesterday and I kept getting dive-bombed by ladybugs! They are everywhere right now.

They seem to congregate by the kitchen door and along the front porch posts and railings.

I love ladybugs so I was delighted and fascinated. Enter Google. Apparently they do this in the fall as they are looking for a warm place to park themselves for the winter. Time to hibernate, my little ladybugs. Go ahead, use my porch, you can stay for free. They get in the house, of course, and while I love seeing them, they will die if they stay here, so I try to rescue them and put them back outside.

And just when I thought my plants had stopped blooming, look what I discovered:

A lovely little Clematis flower. That was a delightful surprise.

Don was in NYC yesterday and I knew he would be near Lincoln Center. That means he was near a favorite place of mine.

Sorry for the quality. It was dark outside. Yes, he brought me 3 Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes!

I may have twisted his arm a little.

I ate number one last night as we watched baseball. By the way, congratulations to my hometown team, the Detroit Tigers! Couldn’t be happier. Well, if the Red Sox were going to the World Series, I would be happier, but I’m pretty happy about the Tigers.

I’ll be back at 8:00 pm EST for A Favorite Thing.

I’ve listed a new scarf in the Etsy Shop. For those of you who have a problem with wool, this one is made from Silk and Bamboo yarn and, believe me, it is incredibly soft and silky on your skin.

Update: Sold. I’m starting a new scarf as I write this!

Happy Friday.

Vintage Wire Laundry Basket

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A year or so ago, I was obsessing about those vintage wire laundry baskets that are collapsible. You know, the ones you see everywhere in Blogland? I loved their industrial look. I watched several go for more than I was willing to pay on eBay. I saw some that were too pricey on Etsy. I tracked down a reproduction basket. They seemed to go for a minimum of $75 (rarely) – more often they were well above $100. Each time I bid on one, I would get my hopes up only to see them dashed as the price climbed on out of my range.

I gave up.

The other day I was looking at Craigs List, as I often do, and I saw a listing for ‘Collapsible Laundry Basket’ for $50. The seller lives in a town about a half hour south of ours. I immediately emailed her but didn’t hear from her right away. I figured I had lost out as it had been listed for several days. Yesterday morning, I got an answer back that it was still available.

I told Don he had to come with me. He did.

Here it is. It still has the Allied tag on it, making it certifiably vintage. It’s quite large. Probably too large for our little cottage which is already crammed full of stuff. And I probably had no business buying it. But…come on…do you blame me?

I love it.

The seller’s name was Claudia. Yesterday was her birthday. She took us on a tour of her gardens. We talked gardening, politics, nesting – she lived in California for years, so did we. She’s talking about inviting us for dinner.

It was meant to be.

In the meantime, I’ve seen that Pottery Barn has a reproduction for $149. There’s a vintage basket listed on Etsy for $190. Moda Home has a reproduction for $90.

I think I got a great deal. It’s the real thing and sturdy as can be. It has the patina I was hoping for.

Now I have to decide what to do with it. For the moment, it will sit on my right when I’m sitting in my blogging chair in the den. I would have photographed it there but it was too dark today. What should I put in it?

Quilts and throws?

Magazines and books?

Or yarn for all my soon-to-be Obsession Scarves?

No sense using it for actual laundry. Our stacked washer and dryer are in a closet in the bathroom. We don’t have a pretty laundry room. But go ahead, ask me how much I want a combination laundry/mud room. Don’t bother, the answer is ‘a lot!’

I’m going to let you guess what option I’m going for at the moment. Maybe you can leave your guess in the comments?

Speaking of Etsy, I listed another scarf today:

That turquoise color, by the way, is a bit more of a teal/turquoise color. Sometimes it’s very hard to capture the subtle changes in these gradient yarns.

Update: Sold Out.

Linking to my pal Brenda’s Tweak it Tuesday.

I have a book review posted today, as well. Just scroll down one post for a chance to win a copy of Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know. It’s very funny, trust me.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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